Tides of Change
by Crimsom-Wyvern
Summary: AU! - It is incredible how one day can change a person's entire life. Naruto finds out about the truth behind the destruction of Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki Clan, a secret Konoha would like to keep buried. Watch as our favorite Uzumaki takes the world by storm in a quest to bring his clan to the top. Rated M for safety reasons. Grey! Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don´t own Naruto, so please do not take down this story. It took me awfully long to write it...**

Prologue - Part 1

One could not describe how unbearably bored one Uzumaki Naruto was feeling. He was supposed to be trained in order to become a Shinobi at the academy not to have what little patience he had wasted away during long and boring lectures. His Teacher, a scar-faced brunet by the name of Umino Iruka, was beyond monotonous on his classes. Naruto could barely register what he was speaking of, something about the raise on taxes during the reign of the Nidaime Hokage. How…incredibly…horrifyingly…frustratingly…BORING!

_"Now I understand why Shikamaru likes to sleep during class. This is torture!" _Cried mentally the 7 year old as he attempted to remain conscious, letting his eyes wander through the classroom until they finally rested on the window. Naruto stared at his own reflection, he had wild spiky red hair, cerulean blue eyes and a healthy tanned skin along with the whisker marks on his face. He wore a black T-shirt with a red spiral on the back and orange shorts. It was while aimlessly staring at the glass that the young Uzumaki noticed that 80% of the class was already asleep while the others attempted stay awake.

_"Oh the irony…the only instructor that doesn't seem to hate me actually puts the class to sleep instead of teaching something useful..." _Thought Naruto with a sigh. Having nothing else to do, the young redhead looked over his shoulder to check if his friends had not gone to Dreamland yet. One of them was Iburi Yukimi, a young girl with fair skin and wavy brown hair, who was currently using her books as a makeshift pillow. Besides her was an amber-eyed, charcoal haired boy with fair skin. His name was Fennikusu Haiko, the sole heir of the Fennikusu Clan, whose face currently rested against the palm of his hand on a feeble attempt to make it appear he was paying attention.

"Mmm…dango…" mumbled Yukimi cutely while lightly drooling over her arms, causing Naruto and Haiko to nearly burst out in laughter. The 3 of them had become fast friends last year when Naruto stood up for Yukimi when a group of students started teasing her because of her manner of dressing. Granted that Naruto got beat up by the group until Haiko´s timely interference, but in the end he managed to finally make friends at the academy.

"Due to the unusual raise in taxes Konoha was forced to negotiate new trading agreements with the Land of Vegetables and the Land of Sea, who had turned to the Land of Lightning in search of better prices for their goods, such as spices, nuts, seafood and tropical fruits. The fallout resulted in the Nidaime Hokage making a journey to the Hidden Cloud Village for a meeting between the village leaders, which was when tragedy stroke when a duo of Kumo Nukenins known as Kinkaku and Ginkaku attempted a coup, nearly killing the 2 Kages…Any questions thus far?"

Iruka turned to the class, expecting his students to start eagerly asking questions and partake on the quest for knowledge, only to be met with silence and muffled noises that sounded awfully similar to snores. It was with great speed that the instructor's face became red while a vein pulsed dangerously in his forehead. Taking a deep breath, the scar-faced teacher used his patented "Big Head" Jutsu, while bellowing at the group of children.

"WAKE UP YOU LAZY BRATS!" The scream was powerful enough to create a gust of wind that barrelled open the windows of the class room while the deafening sound cracked the class made the 40 students of the classroom jump out of their skins, even the most emotionless of the clan heirs flinched at the angry roaring of their instructor.

"I can't believe it! Here I am, providing you with most useful information of the relations between Konoha and Kumo, and you don't even pay attention to it. I should…" Iruka's rant was cut short by the signal of the break, much to the relief of his students who were still disoriented from the sudden wakeup call and made their way out of the class room.

"Finally! I couldn't wait to go outside and stretch my legs." Commented Naruto as he followed his friends to the back of the academy, where the students usually hung out during break time. Besides him were his friends, each of them showing signs of LIS (Lecture Induced Sleep) and looking forward to sometime under the sun.

"I hate Iruka-sensei's lectures. They are always so boring and long. I can't help but fall asleep." Whined the freckled girl while stretching her sore limbs, caused by the lack of movement. Next to her was Haiko, the Fennikusu Heir let out a most undignified yawn while scratching the back of his head.

"Good thing it´s finally over, now we only have Taijutsu Class before we call the day." Commented the black haired boy while the trio positioned itself bellow the shadow of a tree and brought out their lunches. That is, Naruto was about to get a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen when Yukimi took it from his hands. Much to his horror.

"No you don't, mister. I have told you many times that just eating salty noodles will ruin your nutrition. Here, I got an extra bento for you." Scolded the brunette while handing Naruto the lunch box. The spiky-haired Ramen Addict protested weakly, or attempted to, before wilting under Yukimi's gaze and accepting the food. The contents were simple enough, a portion of rice, beef and a fresh salad. The group of friends then dug in while casually talking with each other.

Yukimi was a rather cheerful and energetic girl, almost as much as Naruto. As the first of her family to get the chance to become a Shinobi of Konoha and leave her clan´s home she was quite curious and shy back at the start of the academy, only to break out of her shell after the young Uzumaki stood up for her.

As for Haiko, he was passionate to say the least. And much like his clan's namesake, had a fiery personality that often contradicted with his cool visage. His greatest desire was to one day bring glory to his vastly overlooked family, which was to this day addressed to as a _minor_ clan despite their massive affinity to Fire Ninjutsu and their Enton, a Kekkei Genkai that allowed them to create and shape dark blazes.

"This weekend I will be starting my clan's basic exercises for Katon Ninjutsu. Kaa-san told me that if I got good results she would up my training." Explained the Fennikusu heir, quite excited with the prospect of getting deeper into family tradition.

"You think that's cool? My parents sent me a scroll with some guidelines for awakening our Bloodline." It was quite common for the two to compare their training methods and how far ahead they were of each other, causing hilarious arguments to happen occasionally.

_"If I didn't know them, I would think they were siblings._" Thought Naruto as he chuckled at his friend´s antics and continued to eat his lunch. This time taking his attention to the other groups of students.

"I'm telling you Shikamaru, this time I will definitely kick come Uchiha Ass. I can't wait for the spars to begin!" Sounded the boisterous voice of one Inuzuka Kiba, heir to the famous clan of ninken-using Shinobi. He was one of the insufferable jerks who always teased and taunted Naruto over his dead last status, much to the annoyance of the red-head.

"Pipe down will you, Kiba. I'm trying to sleep here…" Answered the Lazy Genius, who was currently laid down on the grassy floor with his eyes closed, it seemed the nap during class was not enough for him, then again, sleep was never enough for Nara Shikamaru.

"Munch…Munch…Munch" Sitting across Shikamaru was his oldest and best friend, Akimichi Chouji. He was kind and placid kind of boy who spent most of his time either eating or talking with Shikamaru. Naruto had not spent much time with Chouji but knew that the plump boy had a good heart.

"Hey dobe!"Naruto could feel the arrogance oozing off the voice calling out to him. Turning around he was face to face with one of the youngest of the Uchiha Twins, Sasuke. The Duck-haired boy wore his usual sneer of superiority, which infuriated Naruto to no end.

"What do you want, teme?" Questioned the young Uzumaki, hoping to get this conversation over with. Naruto plainly didn't like Sasuke, every time they were remotely close in class he could feel an aura of pride and arrogance that disgusted him.

"Oh nothing, just wanted to see how my favourite punching bag was doing." Sneered the onyx-eyed boy, making Naruto bristle in anger. This got the attention of his friends, who immediately stood up for him.

"Back off, Uchiha." Cut in Yukimi with a glare.

"We are not in the mood for your blabber." Continued Haiko in his trademark fiery-icy tone. Hoping that telling off the obnoxious boy would make him leave. Obviously it didn't work because Sasuke just puffed his chest.

"I was not talking to you. But it is obvious to me that the dead last can't fight his own battles and so you two have to protect him all the time." Now the young Uchiha sounded even more arrogant, if that was even possible.

"Just leave us alone, teme. Or else I will kick your ass." Threatened the redhead while cracking his knuckles. While it was true that Naruto was academically inferior to the Uchiha, if the stuck up duck-haired boy started insulting his friends he would not pull any punches and knock him out silly.

"That's rich coming from you, dobe. After all, last time we sparred I floored you without breaking a sweat…" Sasuke was about to continue his verbal assault on the cerulean-eyed boy when a staff hit him on the back of the head and a bored voice called out.

"Now now…Sasuke…didn't you know it is rude to interrupt someone's lunch…" Said boy turned around to glare full force at who had interrupted him. Standing before him was a boy with spiky brown hair and light green eyes with a red staff in hand. This was none other than Sarutobi Gohan, the eldest grandson of the Sandaime Hokage and one of Naruto's classmates.

"This is none of your business, Sarutobi. Go hang out with the rest of the losers." Bit out Sasuke, attempting to rile up the Bojutsu prodigy, only to get a bored glance from him. It was no secret that Gohan hung out with clan less children such as Rock Lee and Morino Idate. He valued hardwork, despite his natural talent. That mind-set usually collided with the more self-centred clan heirs. The students kept on glaring at each other, waiting to see who would throw the first punch, until a cold voice broke the silence.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" It was none other than Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older twin brother and last year's Top Student. Sasuke, who was known for his great ego, actually deflated a bit on the presence of the mature twin.

"N-Nothing, Nii-san. I was just talking with them about the next class." The younger twin answered while sweating nervously, much to the amusement of Naruto and his friends. Itachi may be uncaringly cold, but it was always good to see the Uchiha Prodigy taking his brother down a peg.

"Come, Sasuke. Break is about to end." Itachi called whilst walking away, causing Sasuke to flinch lightly.

"This is not over, dead last. I will see you at Taijutsu Class." Hissed the raven-haired boy before quickly falling into step behind his brother. Even Sasuke knew better than disobeying the older twin.

"What a jerk." Huffed Yukimi, both her best friends nodding in agreement.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Commented Gohan when the bell rang, signalling the end of Break Time. The Sarutobi prodigy walked back to the academy building, waving friendly to Naruto and company. The trio of friends soon followed the students back into their classroom where Iruka and another instructor were conversing. The other teacher was none other than Mizuki, a white haired Shinobi who had been recently instated as Iruka's assistant. As the students finally managed to settle down, Iruka took it as his cue.

"Class, as you know today we were to have a simple Taijutsu class…" Many whispers followed that statement, the students wondering if they would indeed have the class or if it had been postponed. Their conversation was interrupted by a rather theatrical coughing fit, courtesy of Iruka.

"Today we will be doing something different. Instead of normal Taijutsu, we will be having a small tournament to see how each of you fair in a controlled combat scenario..." Okay the explanation was starting to get boring and the students sleepy, so Mizuki took his cue.

"Let's move along, I am sure all of you are eager to show off." Prompted Mizuki whilst opening the door and watching the students pour out of the class yet again, very determined to avoid another boring Lecture. The instructors moved the class to a small adjacent training ground not too far from the playground, once there Mizuki took out a clipboard.

"Okay, girls to one side and boys to the other." Called out the white-haired man, watching as the students went off to the opposite sides of the field. Naruto stood besides Haiko, beyond excited for the incoming spars, while Mizuki did the roll call. Yukimi stood rather awkwardly without her friends around. To her right were Higurashi Tenten and Uzuki Ami, Tenten was an avid weapons collector while Ami came from a small family of Kenjutsu practitioners, her aunt, Uzuki Yugao, was in ANBU and becoming well known.

"Hyuuga Hanabi!" Called out Mizuki while jolting down notes.

"Here." Called out a bored voice. Both Hanabi and her older twin sister, Hinata, stood to the left of Yukimi. Both had the spotless fair skin and the blank eyes often associated with the Hyuuga Clan. Hanabi wore a sleeveless V-neck black shirt with mesh armour underneath and black shorts, she wore her black hair shoulder-length and straight. Hinata differently from her sister had dark blue hair, that she wore Hime-Style, and a light tint of lavender to her eyes instead of Hanabi´s plain white ones.

Naruto felt a small shiver run down his spine when he noticed the elder Hyuuga sister staring blankly at him. He had tried to chat with the Hyuuga Twins once and let´s just say he didn't like to talk about it. They also had a cousin that studied in the same year, Hyuuga Neji, who often argued with Gohan.

"Hatake Kouken!" Iruka exclaimed, doing the same roll call for the boys. This time a masked young boy with gravity-defying white hair raised his hand while letting out a soft grunt. Haiko had told him that Kouken was cousin to a famous Shinobi of Konoha, Hatake Kakashi, also known as 'Sharingan no Kakashi'.

After that Naruto zoned out, thinking about his encounter with Sasuke and how it took all of his self-control to not jump the jerk and start a fight. If he was lucky he would get to fight the teme and show his strength to him. Before he noticed, both Mizuki and Iruka were already done with their roll calls.

"Alright, the matches will be Taijutsu-only, no weapons. You can win by either knock out, pushing your opponent off the ring or intervention of the judges." Explained Iruka with a warning glance, knowing how his student could be volatile and sometimes went overboard.

"When I call your names, each competitor will stand on the center of the arena. Understood?" Mizuki received nods, he smirked darkly, prepared to put his plan into motion.

"The first match will be: Uzumaki Naruto vs Uchiha Sasuke!" There were some groans to that announcement. The whole class knew how those two disliked each other, they were complete opposites after all, the skilled Uchiha and the talentless dead-last. The two students moved into the center of the training ground and assumed battle stances. Sasuke was using the basic Sekken (Interceptor Fist) of his clan while Naruto adopted a stance which looked like a modified version of Academy Taijutsu, much to the surprise of those watching, with the exception of Yukimi and Haiko.

"Hajime!" The fight was on.

Naruto immediately dashed at his duck-haired opponent and shot a haymaker, only for the Uchiha to block the move and grab the redhead's arm. The raven haired boy sneered at his opponent.

"Is that it? All that talk about beating me and you are still this weak?" Taunted Sasuke before pushing back the dead-last and delivering a sharp kick to his torso, that although partially blocked by Naruto's other arm, sent him skidding away.

"Less talk, more fight!" Growled the young Uzumaki as he recovered from the counter and rapidly approached his opponent, going for another punch.

"You never learn, do you dobe?" The Uchiha merely smirked at the predictable move and moved to block it. That is, until Naruto span on his heels and moved to smash his elbow against the face of the academy jerk, who managed to block it but was sent back a few steps by the momentum of the attack.

"Hehehe…What's the matter Sasuke, can't handle the dobe?" The red-haired boy did not lose the opportunity to tease his opponent. If there was something that Naruto prided himself of it was his unpredictability. Since the teachers refused to teach him the correct Academy Taijutsu, he would just create his own with what he learnt. And judging by the angered visage of his opponent, he had made good progress on it.

"I guess even you can get a lucky shot, dead-last. Let me show you the difference between an Uchiha like me and a useless orphan like you." Proclaimed Sasuke, getting winces and glares from the students due to this particular low blow. Naruto growled in anger, fuming at how callously Sasuke had mentioned his orphan status.

_"That's it! I will kick his ass!" _Mentally roared the Uzumaki as he dashed towards his opponent and went for a kick, which the Uchiha ducked under before throwing a quick jab that hit Naruto's unprotected torso, stunning him momentarily and allowing the Uchiha to fire another kick, this time blocked by Naruto's knee who then went for a left elbow strike to Sasuke's shoulder. The duck-haired boy narrowly avoided it by stepping to the side before hitting Naruto on the ribs yet again, making the younger student stumble back in pain. Deciding to go in for another hit, Sasuke ran at Naruto and went for a kick to the torso, hoping to keep the pressure. Only for the redhead to regain his bearings and grab the leg, effectively blocking the attack and locking Sasuke in close combat position.

_ "I am faster and more skilled, but the damn dobe just doesn't fall. He is physically stronger and doesn't seen even winded…"_ Thought Sasuke as he accessed the situation, he had not taken the dead-last seriously and got caught unprepared. His trail of thought was interrupted by an incoming punch, which he ducked under, only to come face-to-face with the red-head's knee. In a moment of desperation, Sasuke managed to grab the incoming attack use the momentum to throw the dobe off him with a Judo Throw, making him land on the floor with a hard thud.

Naruto, on the other hand, was quite frustrated. After spending so much time trying to learn these moves and get better in Taijutsu he was still eating the dust. He grunted lightly and stood up again. That was when he noticed Sasuke had gotten up as well and currently glared at him.

"Bit more than you could chew huh, Sasuke?" Taunted Naruto, feeling quite happy with dishing some verbal barbs to the arrogant boy.

"This is nothing, dobe. Stop overestimating yourself, you orphaned trash." There was it again, another low blow.

"_Shut up._" Hissed Naruto with a furious undertone, feeling the familiar warmth of anger within his body.

"Touchy subject, dead-last? I don't care, you are probably just an illegitimate kid whose parents dropped him off first chance they got." Enough was enough. After all the barbs and ruthless remarks about his unknown family, Naruto finally snapped in boiling fury and dashed at the Uchiha, prepared to throw his fist while feeling the warmth within his body become hotter and hotter until it felt like his body was on fire. That was when it happened. Golden

"I. SAID. SHUT. UP!" Bellowed Naruto as his fist flew towards the shocked Sasuke. That was when the golden flames of energy focused over his hand, shining as brightly as the sun and the stars. The moment the punch landed, Sasuke was sent flying through the training field and into a tree, knocked out for good.

_"What just happened?"_ Was the thought shared by all who watched. Only silence came after that, broken by Naruto's ragged breathing on attempt to calm himself. The shock felt by the teachers, however, did not last and both Instructors went to the downed Uchiha to check for any wounds.

The young Uzumaki was shocked, he didn't what had just happened. He was just so angry that Sasuke kept insulting him that he saw red. His body shook, feeling the warmth that overflowed in the form of golden energy vanishing.

_"What have I done? What happened?"_ He looked around frantically, seeing the Instructors checking over the Uchiha and how the other students were staring at him with expressions of surprise and fear. Naruto did what any scared child would, he ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Naruto!" Exclaimed Yukimi trying to run after her friend, who looked lost and hurt after Sasuke brought up the worst subject possible to insult him about, his family.

"Stay right where you are Yukimi. Mizuki will pick up Naruto." Declared Iruka, who was carrying the unconscious Uchiha to the infirmary. Mizuki had already vanished, giving the Iburi Heiress a bad feeling.

**[With Naruto]**

The Young boy did not know how far or for how long he had ran, at the moment all he wanted was to be alone to think things through and try to understand what happened. One moment he and the Teme were fighting, then Sasuke started throwing some nasty insults and made him snap.

The next thing he knew, Sasuke was out cold with the teachers carrying him to the infirmary and everyone was looking at him like he was some kind of monster. Even now, Sasuke's words echoed inside his head, making the whiskered boy furious yet again. Unbeknown to him, the strange golden fire had now resurfaced.

_"He had no right to talk about me! That damn teme doesn´t know anything!"_ Exclaimed the boy mentally as the trees blurred around him and dark clouds gathered over Konoha. All Naruto wanted was to find somewhere to hide. That was when something caught his eye, a temple in the middle of the forest. The redhead had never heard about anything like it and he could see the same red spiral of the Konoha Flak Jackets positioned on the entrance. When the rain started Naruto ran into the temple, hoping to avoid getting drenched.

"That was…a close call…" Panted Naruto whilst on his knees, taking deep breaths because of the marathon he had just passed through. When his heart finally calmed down, the academy student looked around the ruined temple. It was pretty conserved on the inside despite the decrepit outward appearance, what interested Naruto was the large wall with multiple demon masks. All of them looked menacing and a bit too real for the redhead's tastes.

"Wow…these are so cool…" Mumbled the young boy as he approached the masks only to comically stumble and fall face first on the floor. On that single moment, only one word could describe how the Uzumaki was feeling.

_"Ouch…" _Okay, so maybe it was not the most descriptive of words, but it did fit the bill. Naruto pushed himself off the floor feeling a burning sensation on his hand, he had gotten cut with a stray piece of wood when he fell, great. When he looked for what had tripped him, the boy found a scroll, huge in comparison to the ones he had seen before.

"Stupid scroll…" Growled Naruto as he placed his bleeding hand on it. Whatever it was to move the scroll or clean the cut, it was interrupted when the scroll started glowing bright blue, stunning the boy. The shine then turned red, and the straps that kept the scroll closed came loose.

"What is this?" Naruto opened the scroll, or rather attempted to, for it only opened partially to reveal the kanji for "clan". After that it would not budge. The young Uzumaki tilted his head in confusion and touched the kanji with his unwounded hand but nothing happened, making the boy grit his teeth in frustration. It was when the pain of his cut hand assaulted him again that Naruto remembered that certain scrolls needed blood to open.

_"One of the few things I remember from Iruka-sensei´s classes…" _Chuckled the boy, before he placed his lightly bleeding hand on the opened part of the scroll, from which a small book poofed into existence. Naruto picked it up and read over the cover, his heart freezing in shock while his mind felt numb.

_The Uzumaki Clan: Rise and fall._

For the first time in Naruto's life. He was rendered speechless. He was part of a clan, he had a family. Naruto cradled the book tightly while lightning tore through the clouded skies, as if heaven itself proclaiming change had come.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wyvern: I would like to thank all those who favourite, follow and review so far. You guys are awesome and it makes my chest swell with pride knowing that I managed to catch your attention. I appologize for the slow pace of the story thus far, but I promise it will pick up soon enough.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, let's say things would be quite different.**

**Prologue – Part 2**

**-[Unknown Location]-**

There are rumors that talk about what lies behind the Hokage Monument, most people just write it off as urban legend and jibber jabber, but the truth is that beyond the carved mountain was located a hidden Training Ground, one that only the Hokage and those he trusted could ever hope to access. Training Ground #0. So it was with immense pride that Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo made their way through the rainy forest, coming upon a large clearing.

"It has been a while since we last visited this place, Hiruzen." Stated the bandaged elder, gaining a nod of confirmation from his boyhood rival.

"I feels like it was yesterday that Tobirama-sensei took us here to train." Commented the retired Hokage, feeling the rush of memories that came with the familiar setting. The clearing was covered by lush grass, on the middle of it stood a rocky pond which reflected the concealed sky. Across from the pond was a large temple-like building from which the village elders could hear muffle noises.

"The Yondaime is inside. Let's go, Hiruzen." Spoke Danzo on his usual monotone voice, interrupting the Sandaime's reminiscing. Both men made their way to the inside of the building, which looked more like a shrine on the inside. It had statues of the 3 past Hokage and expensive paintings of the village during their reigns and it halls were filled with several shelves that contained diffferent kinds of scrolls and books, on the other side of the hall was a set of double doors that lead into the Dojo.

The two elder made their way to the Dojo, from where they could still hear muffled noises and shouts. Hiruzen stopped for few seconds to admire his own statue and dusted it off, causing his rival to roll his eyes at him. Once they passed through the doors they were met with the scene of a blue-haired man wearing a jounin outfit and the Hokage haori overseeing a spar between a duo of blondes, all of whom the retired hokage immediately recognised. The man was none other than Kato Dan, the Yondaime Hokage, while the older woman as his former student, Senju Tsunade. Last but not least was the young girl of about 7 years that greatly resembled the Slug Sannin, the only differences were her green eyes and the lack of a diamond mark on her forehead. Her name was Senju Harumi, the daughter of Tsunade and Dan.

"You are doing good so far, Harumi-Chan. However your stance is too rigid, try to relax or else you will create too many openings" The Green-eyed Hokage called out, getting a soft grunt of acknowledgement from the girl.

"I'm afraid you will have to cut this training short, Dan-kun." Called out the Sandaime Hokage, this immediately brought the focus to him as the family of 3 walked over to him and Danzo.

"Good morning, Sarutobi-sensei. How are you today ?" The sole female sannin greeted cheerfully, basking on the joy of being with her family.

'Unfortunately we must skip the pleasantries, Tsunade. We have an emergency which requires the Hokage's attention." This immediately got Dan's attention, he knew their reason for coming must have been important.

"What is the situation?" The militant side of the Yondaime took over, acessing any and all possibilites and problems that could have arisen. Seeing that they had the full attention of their leader, Hiruzen took the lead, preffering to use his explanation instead of Danzo´s.

"We had an incident at the academy. One of the instructors came to the Hokage Tower in search of you and we volunteered to deliver the message. After an altercation during the Taijutsu Class, Uzumaki Naruto ran into the forest and disappeared after injuring his sparring partner, Uchiha Sasuke." The Sarutobi elder spoke calm, yet his tone pointed out that the situation was serious. The Senju family was baffled, they knew the young Uzumaki all too well considering his distant relation to the Tsunade´s Clan while Dan made it his priority to watch him at every opportunity due to his Jinchuuriki Status.

"Do you mean he just ran off and disappeared ? Nobody went to look for him?!" The blond woman exclaimed, she just couldn't believe how the Academy Instructors could allow a student to slip between their fingers.

"Only two teachers were present during the incident, one of them took the Uchiha boy to the infirmary while the other came to warn us about his disappearence." Danzo filled in the details. The situation should be handled with care, if a Jinchuuriki disappeared it became a matter of village security and they could not afford to lose Konoha war deterrant and weapon.

"Tsunade-chan, I need you to take Harumi-chan home and then come to the Hokage Tower. I will be leading several a tracking team after him. Don't worry, we will find him." Spoke Dan, attempting to sooth his wife. He knew that Tsunade cared deeply for the boy and regretted not being able to raise him. He was her family and Kushina's son after all. However, he denied her the chance because having the Jinchuuriki living with them would disrupt the balance of power within Konoha.

"I don't understand, what makes the dobe running away so important ?" Spoke Harumi for the first time. Her tone filled with confusion and a slight sardonic tone. Unfortunately the Senju Heiress had taken after her father and greatly valued strenght, something that she believed Naruto lacked. She was already surprised by the fact his 'cousin' managed to wound the youngest Uchiha Twin.

"Enough, young lady. I'm taking you home and we are going to have a long talk about that tone of yours." Tsunade declared sternly as she took hold of her daughter's hand and marched outside the temple. She blamed her husband for spoiled her too much. Following her exit the Yondaime turned to the village elders.

"While I look for Naruto I want you two to ascertain what exactly happened at the academy, interrogate all present and don't leave any details out." The normally soft-spoken man ordered, getting firm nods from the elders before vanishing on a Shunshin. Danzo, despite his stoic visage, was quite proud of the Yondaime, the blue-haired man used to be his genin after all. To see him command such power pleased the Shimura Clan Head. Even if he didn't share his opinion on emotional conditioning.

"Let's go, Hiruzen. We have work to do." Mutteres the bandaged man as they turned away from the dojo and walked away, their destination; The Academy.

**-[Location: Uzumaki Temple]-**

_"...Following the founding of Konoha the Uzumaki Clan moved further into the coast of Hi no Kuni, eventually leaving the continent and taking residence on a large Archipelago that was aptly named Uzu no Kuni. The nation would later become the host of Uzushiogakure, the 4th shinobi settlement ever created..."_ Naruto couldn't believe his own eyes. Not only did he have a family, but their history went back to the time before hidden villages existed. The Young Uzumaki was far from being a scholar, but he paid attention to class and knew his teachers had never mentioned his clan or their village. So it was with great hunger that the redhead hungrily ingrained every single detail he laid eyes upon.

_"An year later the leader of Uzushiogakure, Uzumaki Suikou, was called to the very first meeting between the 6 original Hidden Villages, the others being Konoha, Taki, Iwa, Kumo and Kusa. A shaky peace agreement was stablished and each of the village leads received a title of their own. Suikou had been crowned the Shodaime Uzukage..." _A kage...the village of his family had a recognised Kage just like Konoha and there was not even a tiny note on his academy books about it. Needless to say, the boy was angry that his legacy was being ignored and left to be buried by the sands of time. He would not abide for it. 

" I should talk with Hokage-jisan about this." Wondered the boy outloud as he stared at the distance. If the information of the book was truth than he was distantly related to the Hokage's wife, Senju Tsunade, and they would look into the matter.

"I wouldn't reccomend it…" Another voice suddendly spoke, startling the redhead as he jumped to his feet and looked around fearfully, knowing that he had basically transpassed into the temple.

"Who said that? Show yourself!" Demanded the boy, his bravado faltering since he was basically  
defenseless and lost.

"I'm right behind you." The ethereal voice spoke again, its tone filled with amusement. Naruto looked over his shoulder and immediately paled. The one speaking was obviously a woman, her body time and long red hair giving it away in contrast to the plain white Kimono she wore. What really scared the boy was the porcelain Kitsune mask the figure wore and the fact that the figure was see-through like an apparition.

"A GHOST!" The boy jumped away, tripping over his feet and comically falling on his butt. The 'ghost' in question started giggling at the boy's antics before finally getting a hold of herself and walking over to the terrified boy.

"Now now. There is no need to be scared, young Uzumaki. I'm not here to hurt you." The spirit woman spoke kindly, trying to smooth over the boy's worries. Unfortunately using his surname only made the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki more suspiscious.

"Who are you ?" While the boy could feel no ill intent from the ghostly person, he learnt early on to never trust people at face value, some of the villagers made sure of that. The woman seemed to notice his hesitation and stepped back, deciding introductions were necessary.

"My name is Uzumaki Sakuya. I am the guardian of this temple." Spoke the redhead with a formal tone that befitted a princess. Naruto perked when he heard she was family, but was rather put out by her appearence, after all what child is not afraid of ghosts? As if sensing his thoughts, Sakuya spoke again.

"I see you are in need of answers. So I will make this quick and simple. As you probably know, the Uzumaki Clan was famous for our skills in Fuinjutsu. " Naruto's rather stiff nod comfirmed. The book's introduction had described the Uzumaki as the greatest seal masters, he was actually impressed and surprised about how easily he had absorbed information concerning the sealing arts. But before his thoughts could wander too far, Sakuya spoke again.

"What you see before you is the result of a very powerful and complicated Seal created to protect this temple and its contents. I am not a ghost, but a physichal manifestation of the seal´s chakra." Lectured Sakuya, sounding quite proud of the skills required to create the seal. Naruto, true to his heritage, seemed to grasp the concept easily and was by now infantuated with the Sealing Arts. However, there was something that he didn't understand.

"Are you sure the seal is working? The temple is in ruins…" Mentioned Naruto with mirth coloring his tone. The Chakra spirit tensed up and the spiky haired boy swore he could hear Sakuya gritting her teeth.

"Of course the seal is working, Baka! I made it myself! It's not my fault someone deactivated it datteyume!" The masked woman stated adamantly while waving her arms wildly.

"Okay okay, sorry. I was just curious..." Naruto may be the deadlast, but he was no fool. Only a complete moron would choose to aggravate a woman with Shinobi training. He heard enough stories from his friends about how women were scary.

"You better be, brat! I was the greatest Fuinjutsu prodigy of my time, datteyume!" The masked redhead declared proudly.

"Who are you calling brat?! My name is Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!" The boy exclaimed angrily, hating the title most villagers used on him.

_"Definetely got the Uzumaki temper...I just wish that our accursed verbal tick would disappear already…" _Oh well, that could wait a few more generations. She had more importants matters to attend to.

"So tell me, Naruto. What are you doing in this temple ? And why did you open the Scroll of Inheritance?" The woman started. As far as she knew only a few members of the clan lived in Konoha, the last she had contact with before the seal went inactive had been Uzumaki Mito.

"I actually got lost in the forest and end up finding this temple...as for the scroll, it was an accident. I didn't know there was an Uzumaki Clan since none of the teachers ever mentioned it and I am the only one in Konoha with that name." The boy answered meekly, getting a disbelieving stare from the ghostly woman. Just how long had the seal remained unactive? She could feel no deceit from the boy, so something was definetely wrong.

"Tell me everything." Sakuya spoke with serious undertone. What little information the boy had did not paint a good picture for the Uzumaki woman. An Uzumaki orphan with no knowledge of his clan or their village. That would not do and she refused to let her clan be forgotten.

-**[Location: The Academy]-**

Rumors about what happened during the Taijutsu Class traveled fast across the academy. Most were baffled by how the Deadlast had defeated one of the top students of his own class by unknown means. Following the incident, Iruka took Sasuke to the infirmary and left immediately in search of Naruto while the other instructors guided the remaining students to the classroom, but that did not stop the gossip that now spread like wildfire.

****"This is ridiculous, we shouldn't be here, we should be outside searching for Naruto!" Yukimi stubbornly declared. She did not feel good standing idly by while one of her friend was lost in the woods.****

" I know, I want to find him too. But the teachers will not let us out until class is over." Haiko was not fairing much better than the Iburi heiress, his calm visage seemed forced and his legs twitched, showing how eager he was to leave. The Fennikusu heir had been just as shocked as everyone when Naruto's fist suddendly burst into golden flames, it was something he had never heard of before.

" Hey, Fennikusu!" A voice suddendly called out, breaking Yukimi and Haiko off their stupors and getting the attention of the whole class. The one who spoke was a brown-eyed boy with shaggy black hairand a black kimono. He was Shimura Tsukene, the heir of the Shimura Clan and the grandson of Shimura Danzo one of the 4 members of the Elder Council. Besides him was Shimura Sai, although they looked nothing alike

"What do you want Shimura?" Haiko snapped, having little patience for the boy's obnoxious personality due to the stress caused by the situation.

****"I want to know how you managed to do it. You know, how did you teach the deadlast how to use that weird fire ninjutsu?" Tsukene demanded, he had come to the conclusion that the Uzumaki boy had slipped and used a technique he had learn from the katon-specialized clan. His declaration was met with whispery conversations amongst the students, since all of them were thinking about the strange occurence. Even the most silent students such as Neji and Kouken were intrigued.

"I haven't taught him anything. Whatever happened was an accident." Defended the raven-haired boy, but it didn't seem to reassure the other students, even Haiko himself.

"The Deadlast probably came across some cheap trick and decided to use it since he was getting his ass handed to him by the Uchiha" Came the voice of the Inuzuka Heir. In all truth, Kiba himself did not know what had happened but his pride wouldn't allow him to admit it to be a true skill since the young Uzumaki had fought evenly against Sasuke, something that the ninken-user had never managed to do.

"Say that to my face, Dog-breath!" Yukimi shouted, her self-control completely forgotten due to the Inuzuka's constant taunting. She moved towards Kiba, only to have a pair of arms grab onto her own. The Iburi heiress turned around and came face to face with Kurama Yakumo, another of the students of their class and Yukimi's friend.

"Calm down Yukimi-chan. He is not worth it." Spoke evenly the Kurama heiress. Despite her detatched and somewhat cold personality, she and Yukimi had become friends quickly over the past year during one of the meetings between the Minor Clans of Konoha, on their case the Iburi and Kurama Clans. Yakumo kept a firm grip on her friend's arm. Intent on avoiding a brawl.

"So scary! The rag-girl thinks she can threat me…" Kiba sneered, getting a furious glare from the Iburi heiress due to mentioning her former state of dress. He was about to continue his tirade when he suddendly doubled over in pain, cluchting his family jewels while howling in agony. Behind the downed Inuzuka stood Hyuuga Hanabi, her face impassive as ever but all noticed her foot returning to position.

"Insufferable mutt, stop annoying us." The youngest of the Hyuuga twins stated, getting crings of pain from all male students, including the likes of Neji, Kouken and Itachi. Hanabi just couldn't get her thoughts together while the insufferable buffon talked. The twins were intrigued too by the sudden development, last time they checked Naruto was no good in Taijutsu and certainly did not possess golden fire running through his veins.

_"It can't be true, and yet I saw it with my very eyes...How could he knock out one of the upper students? Sasuke and I are about even on Taijutsu, what happened to you, Naruto?'_ In all truth the Hyuuga girls held a certain liking to the redhead. His ever shining personality and honest disposition appealed greatly when compared to the cold facade of their clansmen. Both Hinata and Hanabi looked up to Naruto's will to never give up and never crack under the pressure, something both were subjected to. The latest development only intensified those feelings. Meanwhile, Hinata too was lost in her thoughts

_"For a clanless boy to go toe to toe with an Uchiha, even if we are just children, is downright impossible. And that golden chakra...what other secrets are you hiding..."_ Thought the older Hyuuga twin, her tone carrying a certain degree of admiration. It really upset her that during her first year at academy she was forced to push away the young Uzumaki when he approached her in search of friendship. Hinata knew that both the clan elders and her father would have a heart attack and demand the friendship to be brutally terminated, so the heiress decided to bide her time. But it seems fate was on her side, for this very morning Naruto had managed to surprise all by displaying a strange ability. The news would no doubt reach her clan and she would use that as an excuse to get closer to him. Hinata couldn't help but blush at the possibilities.

That was when the doors opened, revealing their sensei, Umino Iruka alongside the 4 member of the Elder Council. This got the attention of all students, it wasn't always that the advisors of the Hokage appeared. True that people like Tsukene and Gohan interacted with their respective grandfathers on daily basis, but to see them at the academy screamed about the seriousness o the situation.

"Class, first I would like to announce that Sasuke is resting at the infirmary and will make a quick recover. Also, the honorable Elder Council has come here at the request of the Hokage to ask some questions regarding the accident earlier. Please answer their questions truthfully and leave no detail out." Spoke the scarred man, earning nods and silent groans from his students. Haiko cursed mentally, he needed to get out soon to find his red-haired friend.

_"This is going to take a while…" _Were the thoughts of the Fennikusu Heir as the Elders divided into pairs and started interviewing the students one by one.

**-[Back at the Uzumaki Temple]-**

"THOSE THRICE DAMNED BASTARDS! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THEM THEY WILL WISH FOR DEATH!" Sakuya´s voice furiously echoed inside the wooden structure. Following her enlightning conversation with Naruto she had asked to see the Inheritance Scroll and the book Naruto carried. She had a deep foreboding sensation crawl up her spine when she read about the Uzumaki Clan´s supposed "fall". Needless to say, the chakra spirit was pissed beyond measure at the fate of her homeland. To imagine that Uzushio had been backstabbed by their allies and thrown to the hounds only because they thought a couple of new villages had something better to offer. Those upstarts from Suna and Kiri had nothing on them dammit!

_"Maybe showing that to her was not the smartest idea…"_ Naruto fearfully thought as he watched the woman continue her tirade. It felt good to a degree to see how much the clan meant to Sakuya. He too shared her ire, but the dense killing intent permeating the air had silenced his rage and his anger soon melted into sadness, for the family he never got to meet.

"I'M GOING TO IMPALE ALL OF THEM IN RUSTY SPEARS BEFORE TEARING OUT THEIR INSIDES AND HANGING THEM WITH THEIR INTESTINES!" The rant went on, getting more violent, gory and explicit. The younger Uzumaki nearly threw up during one particularly bloody threat and quietly moved over to the masked woman.

"THEN, AFTER I CUT OFF THEIR ARMS AND LEGS I WILL…" The ancient Uzumaki was about to go in details when she felt something grab at the hem of her Kimono. On her current state of bloodlust she rounded on the one who dared interrupt her and came face to face with the teary face of the Younger Uzumaki. That stopped Sakuya made her blood run cold, on her rage she had completely forgotten about the little boy.

"I know you are mad...B-but getting angry now...is not going to bring them back" The boy held back a sob, it had been quite a stressing day for him and the signs were finally showing. The confusion, the discovery, the anger and the sadness had all taken a toll on him. A 7 year old could only take so much.

"Naruto…" The Uzumaki woman kneeled so that she stood eye to eye with the younger redhead. She was so caught up on her on thoughts that she didn't pay attention to how Naruto was taking the news that the family that he just found was all but defunct. Even now she could see the turmoil within him, something she had not helped by raving madly about revenge.

"I'm...I'm mad too. My family...my home...it was all destroyed before I even was born. Now I don't have anything...just an old scroll filled with books." He said the last part bitterly, he could already feel that familiar heat spreading through his body. That righteous rage that was running wild within his mind, telling him to give into it. At the same time, a red energy started bubbling up around his body while the boy's normally cerulean eyes turned crimson red with a vertical slit.

_"It can't be...he is the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi?!" _Sakuya was positively startled, there was no way she would ever forget the malicious chakra of the Kyuubi. Her aunt had been its first host when it became clear that only an Uzumaki could properly house the Nine-Tailed Fox. She had to move fast before Naruto tapped into a larger quantity, or else the whole village would feel it. She wrapped her arms around the red-haired boy, hugging him tightly. Naruto tensed and struggled but her grip was far too strong.

"You have to calm down, Naruto. Don't let that anger get the best of you. You are an Uzumaki, our clan is strong and never gives up. You are an Uzumaki...a brave boy who is carrying a great burden. " She whispered to him, listening to the erratic beating of his heart. She could feel the malevolent energy energy of the Bijuu welling up inside his tiny body. She had only experienced that once, when she had come to visit the 2nd Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, Uzumaki Kushina, her Kushina, her baby. How could she be so blind?!

"You are not alone, Naruto-chan...Your family still lives." The boy looked at her in confusion, what did she mean? She was a chakra spirit, meaning she was dead. She had answered many of his questions, and yet all of them had greatly hurt him.

"H-How can that be...we both read the book. It said that Uzushio was annihilated…" He was interrupted when a soft finger covered his lips, silencing him.

"Our village may be gone...but the Clan, our family, still lives. As long as a single member remains, both the Uzumaki and Uzushio shall live." That caught Naruto's attention. Could his family still be out there? Hiding and waiting for him? The prospect overjoyed the 7-year-old and yet there was a chance that this hope would shatter just as easily as the others had.

"Your family is still with you, Naruto-chan, and they will never leave you as long as you hold their memory in your heart. It is up to you now, to rebuild what has been broken and bring new life to Uzushio." She felt his heart calming down, the Kyuubi's chakra receding back into the seal before it could take a hold of him. Naruto's mind shifted from the home that was taken from him to the chance he now had to build a new one for himself and all those who had lost Uzushio.

"C-Can I really do that…" A soft smile made its way to Naruto's face. His family was depending on him, and he had to be strong for them. With that resolution, the young Uzumaki could feel his body warm up again. Not the same burning sensation that ate away at his heart, but a warm and cozy fire instead, like a hearth. He looked at his hands again seeing the familiar golden energy seeping through in the form of flames.

_"So...he also has the Sun Release...There is no doubt about it…"_ Thought Sakuya as she removed her mask, revealing a fair skinned and heart-shaped face with regal violet eyes. She gave him a loving smile as she ran her hand through his hair.

"It's not gonna be easy, Naruto-chan. But I believe in you. After all what kind of grandmother I would be if I didn't?" Naruto's response was to hug the woman tightier as he felt fresh tears, tears of happiness, running down his face. They stayed like that for a good while until she could feel the boy fall asleep.

"And I promise to help you any way I can datteyume. That, I swear." The rain outside the temple had stopped, giving path to the sunlight and forming a rainbow that could be seen from distance. The Nidaime Uzukage couldn't help but admire the symbolism. Now after a long storm, the sun would finally shine once again upon Uzushiogakure.

_"And this time...we are coming to stay."_


End file.
